Warlocks
are just one of the many classes in World of Warcraft, however, this is
one class that won’t simply blend into the background.
Warlocks are limited, unlike other classes, to only
participating in the DPS aspect of the game. Unable to heal or tank, it
would seem a class like this would leave a player with few options for
variety, but this is simply not the case. The Warlock class, despite
its limitations, or perhaps because of them takes DPS to a whole new
level.

In this section of the Warlock Guide you will find the most basic
information regarding the Warlock class. This includes why you should
play the Warlock, professions information, important statistics, and
also help choosing a race. Enjoy!

Getting Started

style="font-weight: bold;">Why
should you play a Warlock?

With all the other excellent
class choices out there you may be wondering if you have made the right
decision in choosing the Warlock. To help secure your choice check out
the list below for just a few of the defining aspects of this class:

The Warlock can dish out
massive amounts of damage using the combined forces of dark magic and
their demonic minions.

Able to summon minions to do
damage, protect the Warlock, or even bewitch foes.

Can drain enemies health to
rejuvenate their own.

Uses various curses to
hinder and ultimatly help destroy opponents.

Warlocks can create health
stones, summon their friends, and even teleport short distances when
the need arises.

Warlocks, like Paladins, get
a free mounts once they reach the correct level.

Warlock Race
Selection

style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">What's
the best race for the Warlock?

One of the first big decisions
you will make as a Warlock is what race you will be, but first you
should decide which faction you wish to be part of, Alliance or Horde.
Your choice of faction will dictate which zones you spend the most time
in, who your comrades will be, and who you will consider your enemies.

Remember that the ultimate
decision of what race you choose should be based on your personal
feelings rather than stats, this will ensure that you love the race you
are playing and most likely will never regret your choice. However, if
your looking for a more technical way to choose your race you may wish
to check out the various racial abilities attributed to each. Check out
the listings below to see the racial abilities for each race:

Forsaken
racials provide the race with an increase in Shadow resistance by 1,
the ability to breathe underwater for longer than normal, the ability
to gain back health and mana through cannibalization, and Will of the
Forsaken; an ability that removes any movement impairing effects from
the player.

Goblin
racials provide them with the best possible gold discount at vendors,
regardless of faction, an increase in Alchemy skill, a 1% increase in
attack and casting speed, and the ability to use their belt to launch
rockets at enemies and jump long distances from time to time.

Orcs
racials provide an additional 3 points in expertise with Fist Weapons,
Axes, and Two-Handed Axes, increased damage dealt by pets by 3%, a
reduction in the duration of stun effects by 15%, and Blood Fury; an
ability that increases spell power for 15 seconds.

Dwarven
racials provide a 1% increase to critically hit with Guns, expertise
with Maces and Two-Handed Maces increased by 3, an increased resistance
to Frost effects, the ability to find additional fragments when looting
arcaelogical finds and the ability to survey faster than other
archaeologists, and Stoneform; an ability that removes all poison,
disease, and bleed effects, and increases the player’s armor
by 10% for 8 seconds.

Gnome
racials provide an increase in resistance to Arcane effects by 1, a 15
point increase in Engineering, a 5% increase in the player’s
mana pool, a 3 point increase in expertise with Daggers and One-Handed
Swords, and Escape Artist; an ability that allows the player to escape
the effects of any immobilization or movement speed reduction effect.

Humans
have an increase in Spirit by 3%, a 10% increase in reputation gain, an
additional 3 points of expertise in Maces, Two-Handed Maces, Swords,
and Two-Handed Swords, and Every Man for Himself, an ability that
removes all movement impairing effects which cause loss of control of
your character.

Worgen
racials provide a 15 point increase in Skinning and allows the player
to skin faster, increases critical strike chance by 1%, allows the
player to shift between Worgen and Human form, a 13 point increased
resistance to harmful Nature and Shadow effects, the ability to drop to
all fours to run more quickly, and Darkflight, an ability that allows
the Worgen to transform into their true form, increasing movement speed
by 70% for 10 seconds.

Warlock Professions

style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">What’s
the best Profession for a Warlock?

Choosing a profession can seem
like a difficult task, but let me assure you that it is easier than you
might think. Thanks to some changes made by Blizzard, currently every
crafting profession in game will offer a basic bonus to a
player’s stats. These bonuses are designed so that none are
better than the other. This means that players for possibly the first
time ever are able to pick a profession based on their own personal
preference instead of picking one simply because it helps out their
class. So feel free to pick the profession that most appeals to you and
go from there.

Warlock Specializations

style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">What
spec should I pick for a Warlock?

There are three major
specializations that a Warlock can choose from; Affliction, Demonology,
or Destruction. Each specialization has
its own benefits and will offer the Warlock a distinct playing
experience. Choose the one that best fits your personal play style. See
a basic description of each of these specializations below:

style="font-style: italic;">Affliction
- Warlocks who choose the path of Affliction will become terrifying
damage dealers who rely on the power of DoTs to slowly and
(hopefully) very painfully drain the life from their enemies.
While they can still do other types of damage the Affliction tree truly
specializes in damage over time spells. Because of this the Affliction
Warlock may have more mobility than other specs, however, they will
also need to be constantly checking and rechecking the timers on their
active DoTs.

style="font-style: italic;">Demonology
- Demonology Warlocks have the potential to be heavy damage dealers,
however, instead of doing the damage themselves they instead rely
heavily on the assistance of their demon minions. The Deomonolgy tree
revolves around talents that boost the Warlocks pet and other utilities
much like the Hunter’s Beastmaster tree. Demonology currently
reigns supreme in AoE DPS.

style="font-style: italic;">Destruction
- Destruction Warlocks unlike their Affliction counterparts, will take
the focus off the DoTs. Instead this tree focuses heavily on direct
damage dealing and bursts. But, as we all know a Warlock would not be a
Warlock without the use of DoTs and these will still play a role in
this specs damage rotation.

Warlock Equipment and
Statistics

style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How
should I choose equipment
and stats for the Warlock?

Choosing Equipment for your
Warlock is as simple as knowing which basic stats are best for you.
Know which stats you need and you can easily discern which pieces of
gear you should pick up and which you should pass by. While each spec
will require similar stats, some will be more important for certain
specs than other.. Find a listing of the most useful stats (listed in
order of usefulness) for each spec below:

About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.